The International Hockey Federation (FIH), the world governing body, believes that the women’s World Cup, more than the men's, needs “to stand alone on its own two feet”, despite a successful dual tournament in the Hague last month.

The World Cup will return as two tournaments in different cities from 2018, with London hosting the women’s and Bhubaneswar, India staging the men’s 16-team event.

“How many markets can do justice to both a men’s and women’s event?” Kelly Fairweather, the FIH chief executive, told Telegraph Sport. In the FIH’s eyes “not very many”.

Fairweather admits that the women’s tournament has the calibre to become one of the top team events in world sport, a statement that Lee Valley – host for 2018 and this week’s Investec London Cup – will aim to deliver in four years’ time.

“We think that it could be amongst the top two team sports in the world,” he said. “People watch both but our goal is to make it a fantastic event in London. We want to make it top class.

“We feel that the women’s product needs to stand alone on its own two feet.”

The Lee Valley stadium on the Olympic Park site can accommodate up to 15,000 fans and will be closer to the pitch than the Kyocera Stadium in the Hague, which was converted from its usual purpose as a football arena.

“It is not always about quantity, it is quality as well,” Fairweather added. “I always believe that a 10 to 12,000-seater stadium that is full and packed is as good as a 20-30,000-seater.

“We didn’t have any problems filling the venue at the Olympics three times per day in London.

“And with the melting pot of cultures in London and different population groups, we are really looking forward to it.”

Lee Valley will host 2018 women's World Cup

The FIH hosted several meetings with International Olympic Committee officials in the Hague. The world governing body made a concerted effort to show the scale of delivering a World Cup as well as the growing popularity of the game.

For example, in the FIH lounge, they had constructed a map stretching the length of the room with facts and numbers detailing the growth of the sport.

“They spoke to us about the global popularity of the game and we want to show them we have made a big effort in the last few years,” said Fairweather.

“That has now kicked in. It’s not just about the in stadium experience but people are starting to enjoy watching on television.”

Skycam and extra cameras in the Hague demonstrated the FIH’s step up in television production, bolstered by their $250 million, eight-year deal with Star Sports, the Indian broadcaster.

Fairweather admitted: “The easier it is to watch, the more people will be attracted.

“We were a little bit disappointed by the production quality for London 2012, so we want to improve that by Rio.”

The FIH have also tweaked the rule book in the last few years, the overriding change being the decision to turn the sport from two halves to four quarters. However, there will now be a “consolidation” period as hockey adjusts to the new rules before Rio 2016.

“When you go from a rule that has been around for years, there was going to be a fair amount of reaction and comment,” Fairweather said of the four, 15-minute halves, which raised eyebrows with traditionalists.

“It will be interesting to see how teams adapt to it and how the tactics change. One of the things I would like is to see the top players play more as there is currently a big turnover on the pitch.

“We have worked on video referral and the pace and flow of the game. I like to see the 6-2 results and shots at goal. We are now seeing a nice, fast attacking game.”